This invention relates generally to automatic card shuffling devices and, in particular, to devices for continuously shuffling a number of decks of cards.
In gambling casinos certain card games are played with several decks of cards used during the playing of the game. The large number of cards makes it difficult to quickly, manually shuffle the cards and the speed of the game is largely determined by the dexterity of the dealer. It has been heretofore proposed to provide automatic card shuffling devices to reduce the time required to shuffle and deal the cards in such games, so that the number of hands played per hour may be increased.
One prior art automatic shuffling device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,310,160 issued to Leo Willette and Betty Willette. In this prior patent one card at a time is removed from the bottom of each of two stacks of cards in a predetermined alternating sequence. There is no arrangement provided in this prior patent for randomly selecting the cards from the two stacks of cards. In this prior patent one card must at all times be taken from each stack in an alternating sequence.
It is more desirable to provide an automatic card shuffling device with automatic means for randomly selecting one or more cards from the two stacks in a random sequence rather than in a fixed alternating sequence between the two stacks.